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Become a FROG member! Dear Friend, If you enjoy the Little Tennessee River Greenway, please support it by joining Friends of the Greenway. With your help we can continue to meet our mission in working with local government in stewardship of the Greenway. Our goals are trail improvements, sharing information on its natural wonders, and sharing the historical significance of this special landscape. New projects are planned, but continued funding is needed. You can use the form below and pay with credit card or mail this form with a check to Greenway Visitor Center/FROG Quarters payable to Friends of the Greenway. You can also establish a recurring monthly donation on our website here . Your membership and donations are essential in our work to make the Greenway better. If you care about the trail, join us with your contribution and encourage everyone you know who uses the Greenway to become members too. Thank you. Friends of the Greenway Board

Macon County, NC birding Birding in Franklin, NC Birding on the Little Tennessee Greenway, Franklin, NC Where to Bird in Macon County, NC Bird walks in Franklin, NC Bird list Franklin, NC Franklin Bird Club, Franklin, NC Love to Bird? 2026 CALENDAR Looking for chances and places to go birding? Want to learn more about birds and birding? This could be the group for you! We are a loosely organized group of locals who love birding. Some have years of experience observing and identifying birds. Some of us are backyard birders, building our list of recognizable bir ds. All of us want to learn more about the birds that reside in, migrate through, or occasionally visit our area. Join the Franklin Bird Club! WELCOME! To become a member of the Franklin Bird Club, simply join us for a Greenway bird walk. These walks are led by experienced birders and are held every Wednesday morning from April through September . They begin from three locations. Locations are shown below. They include Big Bear , Salali Lane and the Macon County Library . There are no fees, though occasionally, we may take donations for operating costs or to support local organizations (e.g. Friends of the Greenway). See below for a map identifying the three Greenway entrances used for bird walks and the Greenway Bird Walk Calendar for date and location of each weekly walk. Download the Bird Club CheckList Bird List Locations BIG BEAR SALAI LANE ENTRANCE MACON COUNTY LIBRARY Click on the locations for Google Maps directions. Big Bear Parking Lot —Franklin, North Carolina From the west bound side of NE Main St near the Little Tennessee River, turn north onto Big Bear Lane. Stay to the right and go to the larger parking lot below the pavilion, near the playground and the dog park. Salali Lane Parking Lot —Franklin, North Carolina Off of Highlands Road in Franklin (NC 28), take Fox Ridge Rd to the west. Fox Ridge is between the 441 bypass and the Franklin Flea Market. Turn right onto Salali Lane, go to the parking lot at the end of the road. The Macon County Public Library Parking Lot —Franklin, North Carolina 149 Siler Farm Rd, Franklin, NC 2873. We gather near the main entrance. 2026 Calendar All Wednesday Walks start at 8:00 a.m., and last approximately 2.5 hours. Bird walks may be canceled in the event of inclement weather. Updates will be posted here and on the club Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/franklinbirdclub/ April April 22 - Big Bear April 29 - Salali Lane May
 May 6 - Macon Co Library May 13 - Big Bear
 May 20 - Salali Lane
 May 27 - Macon Co Library June June 3 - Big Bear
 June 10 - Salali Lane
 June 17 - Macon Co Library June 24 - Big Bear July
 July 1 - Salali Lane July 8 - Macon Co Library
 July 15 - Big Bear
 July 22 - Salali Lane
 July 29 - Macon Co Library August August 5 - Big Bear
 August 12 - Salali Lane
 August 19 - Macon Co Library August 26 - Big Bear September
 September 2 - Salali Lane September 9 - Macon Co Library September 16 - Big Bear September 23 - Salali Lane September 30 - Macon Co Library October - Walks start at 8:30 a.m. TBD Franklin Bird Club Projects Over the years, members of the Franklin Bird Club have made many contributions to the Greenway. These have included financial donations and volunteer time spent building, installing, and maintaining bird friendly areas, as well as offering seasonal, weekly bird walks for the community. In 2018 , Franklin Bird Club installations on the Greenway included a Purple Martin House, donated by Bob Gilbert. The Purple Martin complex is found near the Community Garden behind the Southwest Community College Campus. It was installed by Terry Browning and George James. Jim and Ellen Shelton also added gourd birdhouses in the same area. In 2019 , using funds collected from the FBC, Jim Shelton built 12 cedar bird boxes, including 4 Bluebird, 4 House Wren and 4 Tree Swallow boxes. These were installed along the Greenway on posts with predator guards. By summer of the first year, 11 out of the 12 were in use, with nestlings or eggs from 5 different species. Currently there are around 50 bird houses along the Greenway being maintained and monitored by volunteers from the Franklin Bird Club and Friends of the Greenway. In 2020 , after months of planning and building, two new Chimney Swift towers were completed on the Greenway. They are located near the Community Garden, behind the Macon County Public Library. Franklin Bird Club members and Friends of the Greenway members contributed building efforts and donations. Member, Barbara McRae, approached Duke Energy for their support. Duke provided $500 toward the project. Jim Shelton headed up the building team, planning, purchasing and preparing materials. His team included: Tom Brown, Tim Carstens, George James, George Kaye, Richard Lawrence, Wes Lawrence, Drew Leviton, and Ellen Shelton. Our new Chimney Swift towers are a fitting tribute to the planning, dedication and determination of Franklin birders. 2023 saw the installation of the Barbara McRae Memorial Viewing Platform . This was a joint project of the Franklin Bird Club and Friends of the Greenway. Barbara McRae was a founding member of both organizations. The platform is located at Big Bear, just west of the playground gazebo, overlooking the wetlands. Designed by John Sill with building plans by Ed Haight, the platform was built by volunteers from the Bird Club and Friends of the Greenway. Volunteers included Ed Haight, Kevin Robertson, Drew Leviton, Tommy Marsh, Jim and Ellen Shelton, John Sill, Jerry Denny, George James, Stan Polanski, and John Hinson. Common Backyard Birds of the Greenway Identification guide Thanks to Tim Carstens, we can now double check our backyard bird sightings. Here are some of the most common in our area . Eastern Bluebird Carolina Chickadee American Robin Blue Jay Carolina Wren Red-bellied Woodpecker Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female) Mourning Dove Pileated Woodpecker American Goldfinch (male) Northern Mockingbird Northern Cardinal (male) Northern Cardinal (female) White-breasted Nuthatch European Starling